Creatine monohydrate is a commonly used supplement. Creatine monohydrate is soluble in water at a rate of 75 ml of water per gram of creatine. Ingestion of creatine monohydrate thereof requires large amounts of water to also be ingested. Additionally, in aqueous solutions, creatine converts to creatinine via an irreversible, pH-dependent, non-enzymatic reaction. Aqueous and alkaline solutions contain an equilibrium mixture of creatine and creatinine. In acidic solutions, on the other hand, the formation of creatinine is complete. Creatinine is devoid of the ergogenic beneficial effects of creatine and is typically excreted in the urine. It is therefore desirable to provide, for use in individuals, e.g. animals and humans, forms and derivatives of creatine with improved characteristics such as stability and solubility. Furthermore, it would be advantageous to do so in a manner that provides additional functionality compared to creatine monohydrate alone.
Hydrosoluble creatine monohydrate salts are obtainable and have been described elsewhere. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,973,199, incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, purports to describe hydrosoluble organic salts of creatine as single combination of one mole of creatine monohydrate with one mole of the following organic acids: citrate, malate, fumarate, tartarate, and malate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,925,378, incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, purports to describe a form of a creatine salt as a combination of one mole of creatine with one mole of citric acid.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,211,407, incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, purports to describe dicreatine and tricreatine citrate and methods of making the same. Salts are reported to be a combination of two and three moles of creatine monohydrate with one mole of citric acid, respectively. In addition, dicreatine and tricreatine citrate are claimed to be stable in acidic solution, in a guise to prevent or impede the formulation of creatine to creatinine.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,166,249, incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, purports to describe a creatine pyruvic acid salt where the ratio of creatine to pyruvate is 1:1 and the creatine pyruvate contains 1-10 molecules of water.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,973,199, incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, purports to describe a method of producing a creatine malate salt with a melting point of between 128 and 129° C. The patent also purports to describe a method of producing a creatine citrate salt with a melting point between 112 and 114° C.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,838,562, incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, purports to describe a process for the synthesis of mono, di, or tricreatine orotic acid, thioorotic acid, and dihydroorotic acid salts.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,861,554, incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, purports to describe a formula, a novel salt, creatine taurinate, and the compositions containing same (health foods, compositions or drugs).